SHI LECTURE TO FEATURE RENOWNED TSIMSHIAN ARTIST

Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) will sponsor a lecture Thursday as part of its ongoing fall series, featuring prominent voices in Indigenous knowledge, art and culture, wildlife conservation and science.

David A. Boxley, a Tsimshian carver from Metlakatla, will discuss the deep connection between traditional art forms and the cultural revitalization of the Tshimshian people in his lecture, “Tsimshian Art.”

Boxley is the first Alaskan Tsimshian artist to achieve national prominence, and he has been a pivotal figure in the preservation and revitalization of Tsimshian culture, art and language. His work, which includes more than 65 totem poles carved over the past 25 years, has not only preserved the traditional methods he learned from studying ethnographic materials in museum collections but has also inspired future generations of carvers.

Today, he is celebrated for teaching Shm’algyack, art and carving, and for his collaborations with his son, David R. Boxley, including the cedar house front in the foyer of the Walter Soboleff Building, believed to be the largest of its kind in the world.

The house front is an original design created in traditional Tsimshian formline style and was designed to honor the master artists of the 1800s. It tells the Tsimshian story of Am’ala, the strongest man in the world. After training in icy water, receiving strength from a supernatural being and defeating many warriors and animals in battles of strength, Am’ala is given the responsibility of carrying the weight of the world.

The lecture is scheduled at noon, Thursday, Sept. 19, in Shuká Hít within the Walter Soboleff Building, 105 Heritage Way, in Juneau. The event will be livestreamed and posted on SHI’s YouTube channel.

Sealaska Heritage Institute is a private nonprofit founded in 1980 to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures of Southeast Alaska. Its goal is to promote cultural diversity and cross-cultural understanding through public services and events. SHI also conducts scientific and public policy research that promotes Alaska Native arts, cultures, history and education statewide. The institute is governed by a Board of Trustees and guided by a Council of Traditional Scholars, a Native Artist Committee and a Southeast Regional Language Committee.

CONTACT: Kathy Dye, SHI Communications and Publications Deputy Director, 907.321.4636, kathy.dye@sealaska.com.

Caption: The Shuká Hít house front within the Walter Soboleff Building carved by David A. Boxley and his son, David R. Boxley. Photo courtesy of Sealaska Heritage Institute. Note: Media outlets are permitted to use this image for coverage of this story. For a higher-res image, contact kathy.dye@sealaska.com.